I Moved Your Cheese (6 page)

How can we differentiate ourselves in our industry and in the eyes of customers?

How can we assert greater control in an environment where we are often at the mercy of economic and competitive forces that are beyond our control?

What kind of organizational structure is best suited to the goals we are pursuing?

Are we focusing on the wrong goals?

I hope that this book will help you target some of these questions and concerns. The vast
majority of managers and executives that I have worked with are smart and hard-working, and they have good intentions—and yet they continue to struggle with these kinds of problems. The reason is that intellect, effort, and intent are necessary—but not sufficient—to solve some of the more vexing problems we face. We also need to step back and challenge our assumptions, to see the old in new ways, to try not only harder but also differently, and above all, to create an environment where people are constantly asking
why
and
why not
. I hope this book helps you and your colleagues to create such an environment in your organization.

1.
What will happen to Max, Big, and Zed?

We have not heard the last of these three mice. There are a few things I can say about what happens next: The adventures of Max, Big, and Zed continue outside the maze, but there are also more mazes to visit. Their lives intersect again and in more interesting ways. New characters enter the story. The plot thickens.

2.
What was the inspiration for these three characters?

The story began with Max, who was born almost instantly after I read
Who Moved My Cheese?
(
WMMC
) for the first time. He came to embody my intellectual and
affective response to
WMMC
. Of course, his story could not be written until he had grown up quite a bit—which is to say, until the intellectual and affective response could mature. Once Max was old enough to start causing some trouble, he met Zed and Big. Zed and Big had always been there, in the maze, so to speak, but their stories were more difficult to articulate. We needed Max to bring everything together and to start the necessary dialogues. Each of them became, very quickly, indispensable to me, because I discovered that this was one story, not three stories. Max's story was incomplete in the way that intellectual and affective responses to a situation are often incomplete.

3.
Who is your favorite character?

When thinking about this in general terms,
it is a little bit like choosing between your children; you love them all equally. On the other hand, while reading the story itself, I find that the character I'm most impressed with varies, depending on what I'm going through or thinking about in my life at that time.

4.
Who is the hardest character to write about?

Zed. (But sometimes it is Big.)

I am grateful to many people—many of whom have influenced the making of this book.

At Harvard University, I am surrounded by fantastic colleagues who inspire excellence. I am fortunate to work in an environment and culture that encourages not only the development of new ideas but also the transformation of ideas into action.

I was introduced to my publisher, BerrettKoehler, by two former students, Ethan Willis and Randy Garn. Thank you, Ethan and Randy, for setting in motion the process that led to the publication of this book. At BerrettKoehler, I have had the pleasure of working with an amazing team of professionals. I am especially thankful to Steve Piersanti for his
early (and ever-growing) enthusiasm for what I had written, and his great insights on everything related to the business of books. Thanks also to Jeevan Sivasubramaniam, Kristen Frantz, Dianne Platner, Maria Jesus Aguilo, and the many other folks at B-K who put so much of their time, energy, and expertise into this project.

I would also like to thank the many amazing teachers I have had in my life. I learned much more than I could have bargained for each time I entered Mr. Leider's theater class in high school, Sifu Brown's school of martial arts as a newly minted college grad, and Professor Murnighan's office as a young scholar at the Kellogg School of Management. To these, and the many other great teachers I've encountered, I am eternally grateful.

Finally, and most of all, I am indebted to
my family. My parents, Chander and Sudesh Malhotra, demonstrated to me the value of charting one's own path in life and, more importantly, encouraged my every idea, ambition, and endeavor. My brother, Manu Malhotra, has walked through enough walls in his life that I wonder whether he even notices they exist. My wife, Shikha, not only gives me the strength and support to search for what lies beyond the maze, but also helps knock down the walls that I'm having a hard time scaling. My kids deserve much credit for my work: looking at my children makes me want to solve big problems.

DEEPAK MALHOTRA
is a professor in the Negotiations, Organizations, and Markets Unit at Harvard Business School. He teaches negotiation strategy to MBA students as well as in a variety of executive programs, including the Owner/President Management Program, Changing the Game, and Families in Business. Deepak is the author (with Max Bazerman) of
Negotiation Genius: How to Overcome Obstacles and Achieve Brilliant Results at the Bargaining Table and Beyond
. It was awarded
the 2008 Outstanding Book Award by the International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution.

Deepak's research focuses on negotiation strategy, strategic decision making, trust development, competitive escalation, and international and ethnic dispute resolution. It has been published in top journals in the fields of management, psychology, conflict resolution, and foreign policy. His work has also received considerable media attention, including multiple appearances by Deepak on CNBC. Deepak has won awards for both his teaching and his research.

Deepak's professional activities include training, consulting, and advisory work for firms across the globe in dozens of industries. He is also a frequently invited speaker to
executive groups such as the Young Presidents' Organization (YPO) and the Entrepreneurs' Organization (EO).

You can follow Deepak on Twitter at
www.Twitter.com/Prof_Malhotra
.

You can visit Deepak's official website at
www.DeepakMalhotra.com
.

Visit the website for
I Moved Your Cheese
at
www.RazeTheMaze.com
.

Find Deepak's book on negotiation at
www.NegotiationGenius.com
.

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